


Birthday Round Trip

by suchanadorer



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-11
Updated: 2011-11-11
Packaged: 2017-10-25 22:44:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/275651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchanadorer/pseuds/suchanadorer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A birthday party on MJN goes wrong when one of the kids gets scared, but who can calm him down?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Round Trip

The rain drummed steadily on the outside of the plane as Arthur hummed tunelessly to himself, hanging the last of the decorations. Crepe paper festooned GERTI’s ceiling and balloons rolled lazily around his feet in the aisle as he twisted and taped the last bits in place.

“What in – Arthur? What on Earth have you done?” Douglas ducked as he stepped into the plane, his head narrowly missing a fluttering bit of decoration. Arthur was covered in bits of paper; they were wrapped around his arms and neck, flapping with his movements around the cabin.

“Oh, hello, Douglas! Brilliant, isn’t it?” Arthur beamed at him, stepping back to gesture to his handiwork. The move was somewhat spoiled, though, when his foot slipped on a balloon and he stumbled backwards, catching himself on a seat. “We’re flying a birthday party to Edinburgh and back today, remember? Ten kids and four parents, and since the flight’s so long, they wanted to start the party on the plane, so Mum let me decorate it!” He regained his balance and looked past Douglas’ disbelieving expression to Martin, whose face darkened as soon as he stepped into the cabin, his cap fastening in a ribbon of paper and pulling it down from the ceiling. He glared openly at it as it drifted lazily down in front of his face. “Hey Skip! What do you think?”

Martin’s gaze drifted around the plane, taking in the coloured paper, balloons and confetti scattered on the seats. His jaw hung open and his tongue worked in his mouth, but nothing came out. After a minute, he drew a hand over his face and turned back to face them both, brows knitted together. “I’m sorry, Arthur. There’s no way we can fly with all these balloons just lying about like this. It wouldn’t be safe.” He waved a hand around, demonstratively kicking them out of the way as he walked up the aisle to the flight deck.

“I, oh. I guess you’re right, Skip. I mean, of course you’re right...”

Douglas glanced from Martin’s retreating figure to Arthur, who was crestfallen, sullenly rolling a balloon back and forth under the toe of his shoe. “Well, Martin. There’s plenty of room in the overhead compartments. We could always stow them all up there, then release them once we’ve hit cruising altitude. I think the kids might enjoy the surprise.” Arthur’s eyes went wide and he swung around, looking to Martin for his reaction.

“Oh, can we, Skip?”

Martin’s shoulders drooped even further, and his hand paused on the cockpit door. “Yes. Fine, Douglas. That will… be fine.” He didn’t turn to face them as he spoke, and he immediately retreated into the cockpit, pulling the door closed behind him.

“Brilliant!” Arthur’s enthusiasm was curbed only by his inability to hold more than three balloons at a time as he scooped them up. “Want to help, Douglas?”

“No, Arthur. You’ve got the task well in hand. I think it’s best I go help Martin with the pre-flight checks.” He skirted around Arthur, knocking the balloons out of his arms in the process on his way up to the flight deck.

The checklists had been conducted with no interruption, and no conversation. Douglas watched Martin out of the corner of his eye as he ran through the familiar instructions. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what. Martin’s reaction to the decorations in the cockpit had been unexpected; there were no rules regarding balloons and they both knew it. They’d taken off with no complications, but an unmistakable chill lay over the flight deck, despite the occasional high-pitched squeal of laughter from the other side of the door.

“Martin.” The younger man lifted his head from where he was looking at the instruments, focusing his eyes on some point far out in front of GERTI and resolutely not turning to meet Douglas’ gaze.

“Yes, Douglas.”

“Well, I couldn’t help noticing you were less than exuberant at the idea of today’s flight when it came up on the schedule.” A non-committal noise came from Martin’s throat and his eyes moved briefly to look at his first officer, but he said nothing. “And you certainly weren’t enthused by the effort Arthur put in to decorating the cabin this morning.” At the mention of Arthur’s name Martin’s face softened, his eyes darting about as he ducked his head, embarrassed.

“I...I didn’t mean to snap at him. I had planned on apologizing when he came up with the coffee. It’s just... I don’t like children. I don’t... do well with groups of them. Especially parties.”

Douglas looked quizzically at Martin, then took initiative and buzzed the galley on the intercom. “Arthur?”

“No, it’s me. What do you want?”

“Ah, Carolyn, charming as ever. We had hoped there might be coffee in our immediate future, perhaps brought to us by MJN’s one and only steward.”

“Coffee you can have, but it will have to be me doing the serving. Arthur is... otherwise engaged.”

“And what, pray tell, is he doing?” The pilots exchanged worried glances.

“The children are playing hide-and-go-seek in the cabin, you see, and Arthur has locked himself in the loo. He takes it very seriously, so I’m afraid-“

”Alright, fine, Carolyn. Just bring the coffee when you can.” Martin stabbed at the intercom button with his finger, turning it off. He sighed, leaning back against his seat.

“Martin. You’re the youngest child in your family.”

“Yes, Douglas.”

“Not the most well-liked child in your class, I seem to recall.”

“Yes. Douglas.” Martin’s jaw tightened, irritation rising in his voice. “Do you have a point?”

”I’m just wondering what your birthday parties were like as a child. Ah.”

There it was. Martin’s lips pressed together to a thin, white line and his grip tightened on the controls, his whole body tensing up. He spoke in spurts rather than whole sentences. “I had one birthday party. Once. Invited everyone.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, and his voice caught, just a little. “Not even my sister came. Five years old, whole house to myself. Filled with balloons. I hate them. After that I, well, it’s not that I was popular to begin with, but after that I spent most of my time by myself and never really got used to how children act.”

The flight deck door swung open just as Martin finished speaking and he barely suppressed a groan as Carolyn followed the coffee tray in. “Here we are, coffee. And what would a proper birthday party be without cake?”

“Carolyn.” Martin said, taking a deep breath before continuing, “Have those candles been lit? Did you set fire to something in the cabin of the aeroplane?”

She rolled her eyes, plucking the used candles out of the pieces of cake as she set the tray down between them. “Oh, really, Martin. They didn’t even set off the alarm, and the boy’s parents were thrilled! So was he, although that matters less to me since he’s not the one paying.”

“Thank you for the cake, Carolyn. How goes the party?” Douglas shot a look at Martin, who had begrudgingly picked up his coffee, leaving the cake untouched for the moment.

“They’re having a wonderful time, Douglas. We’ve played games, including a spirited version of Pin The Tail On The Steward, and now hide and seek. Later we’ll be opening-“

Carolyn was cut off as the plane shuddered, then dipped. Martin’s hands flew to the controls, steadying GERTI. “Turbulence. Carolyn, go get the kids buckled in.” Douglas drew in a breath through his teeth and thumped a fist on the control panel, which only then lit up and started beeping. He glanced at Carolyn, who gave him a warning look before turning on her heel and heading back into the cabin.

“Reliable old GERTI, always ready to tell us what we already know.” They’d climbed a little, and the controls were shaking less in Martin’s hands. He rolled his shoulders, taking a few deep breaths as if he could will the plane to calm down. “Martin...?”

“Yes. Douglas.” Martin’s eyes flicked from the console in front of him to his first officer, then back.

“We seemed to have climbed above the wind. I think you can calm down now.”

“Thank you for that piece of expert advice, Douglas.” He spat the words out, keeping his eyes straight ahead at end expanse of sky in front of the plane-

“Martin, I mean it. You did fine, and we’re above the wind now. Really, relax.” Douglas sighed, leaning back in his seat and watching Martin out of the corner of his eye. The captain ran a hand through his hair, then matched Douglas’ posture, slouching back into his seat and laughing.

“Reliable old GERTI, eh?” Martin rubbed his hands on his thighs, shaking his head. "Did you see Carolyn’s face?”

They both laughed at that, and were just getting control over themselves when the cockpit door swung open and Arthur burst in, his face flushed.

“Wow, Skip, you sure got us calmed down in a hurry.” Martin preened slightly under the compliment. “Mum thought-“

“Yes, I can guess what Carolyn thought, Arthur, thank you very much.”

“Sorry, Skip. Umm, Douglas, can you come out here a minute?”

Martin’s face fell again when Arthur turned to Douglas. The pilots exchanged a quick look. “Why, Arthur?”

“Well, it’s just that when we hit the turbulence, one of the kids fell off his seat-“

“Oh God.” The colour drained from Martin’s face and he looked more than a little ill. Even Douglas winced.

“No, no, Skip, it’s okay, he’s fine. He just won’t stop crying is all, and his dad’s not flying with us. Mum and I tried, but then he just cried even harder, so Mum thought maybe, well, Douglas has a daughter, and we thought he might be able to help.” Arthur looked nervously from one pilot to the other as if waiting for an objection, but Douglas simply rose to his feet, and Martin nodded. “You don’t mind, Skip?”

“Nope. Douglas is more than welcome to take care of any and all matters concerning children.” He nodded in deference to his first officer, who was already on his way out the door towards the now much quieter cabin.

A few minutes passed. Martin whistled quietly to himself in the cockpit, drumming his fingers on the controls. The wobbling continued, so he turned on the Fasten Seatbelt sign and checked the dials again. It was nothing serious, but he welcomed the distraction. He found himself oddly relieved at not having even been asked to help. Yes, maybe this was what first officers were for; taking care of the things he didn’t have any interest in doing.

Douglas returned a short time later looking rather haggard, with something pink spilled on the sleeve of his uniform shirt. Instead of sitting in his seat, however, he remained in the doorway and looked down at Martin, raising his eyebrows.

“Not gone well, has it?” Martin tried, and failed, to keep the smile from spreading across his face.

“Surprisingly, no. It seems my natural charm only works on women, and those only within a certain age range. Not even the tricks I used to use on my daughter worked. He dumped a cup of juice on me and started hitting me with the empty glass.” Douglas gestured towards his arm.

“Wait...Used to use?”

“Yes. Since the incident with the candy at her birthday party, her mother has decided that it’s best if I’m not a part of her life anymore. Anyway she’s too old for me to talk baby talk with her, or tickle her under her chin.” Douglas went silent, sinking into his seat and watching the controls in front of him with utter disinterest.

“Oh, Douglas, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

“No, it’s... you don’t like children, I assumed you wouldn’t be interested in hearing about mine.” They both shifted uncomfortably in their seats, each avoiding the other’s gaze. “Carolyn wants you to go out and talk to him.”

Martin groaned. “You didn’t tell her, did you? About the... what I told you, earlier?”

“No, but I did mention sending you out might not be the best idea. I didn’t really explain, but she wanted you to try anyway.”

“Right. Okay. Any-“ Martin sighed as he stood up. “Do you have any advice, Douglas?”

Douglas’ laugh was flat and humourless. “Nothing I haven’t already tried, Martin. Best of luck.”

A knot formed in Martin’s stomach as the cockpit door clicked closed behind him. GERTI was not a new plane, and he didn’t own her, but he took pride in the fact she was his plane, and now she was in chaos. Most of the children had gone back to playing, running up and down the aisles and casting balloons at each other over the seats. He started heading towards the back of the plane when Arthur’s had poked out from the galley.

“Hey Skip! Mum, Skip’s come out.”

“Oh, it’s about time. Martin!” Carolyn came out from around the corner and waved her arm frantically as if he wouldn’t be able to see her through the now-tattering bits of decorative paper and the flurry of balloons. Martin rubbed at the bridge of his nose before walking up the aisle, delicately maneuvering around small boys and girls in colourful hats. He started when a noisemaker flicked out in front of him, the dark-haired girl at the end of it squealing with laughter before hopping down off her seat and running towards the front of the plane. He picked his way over balloons in various states of inflation, bits of paper discarded in favour of the contents, and cake ground into the carpet. The effect was amplified by the continued jiggling of the plane and a wail coming from the direction of the galley. He noted that the adults were the only ones observing the Fasten Seatbelt sign, together in the back corner, sharing a bottle of wine.

Carolyn met him at the entry to the galley and grabbed him by the sleeve, pulling him to her side. “He’s terrified of the turbulence and nothing is working. I’m seriously considering vodka.” Arthur was crowded up against the refrigerator in the far corner of the little room staring anxiously at a boy, seated on the worktop. He looked up at Martin from under a mop of soft blonde curls, his blue eyes wide and shining with tears. He drew an arm across his face, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Carolyn gave Martin a less than gentle nudge towards him, and he pushed her hand off, walking towards the boy, whose face was now frozen.

“Hello. My name’s Martin. What’s your name?”

The plane shuddered. The boy took a ragged breath and a tear spilled down his cheek. Martin reached out and put his hand on his arm, giving him a tentative smile.

“It’s okay, I promise. Look, I’m the captain.” He tilted his head down and pointed to his hat. The boy’s jaw dropped open and his eyes moved back and forth between Martin’s face and his hat. “So, what’s your name?”

“Toby. Are you really the captain?” Martin suppressed a groan, his tongue flicking out between his lips. He heard Carolyn try to cover a laugh with a cough behind him.

“Carolyn, perhaps you and Arthur could try to get the rest of the kids into their seats? Not being in the flight deck, I can’t possibly know how much longer we’ll be on this bumpy ride.” He glanced pointedly at both of them and said a silent thank-you when they made their way out. Toby watched them go, waving enthusiastically to Arthur, then turned his attention back to Martin.

“Why does the plane shake, Captain Martin? Can you make it stop?” Toby reached across himself, pulling on Martin’s sleeve. Martin looked down at him again and smiled, patting the boy’s shoulder before leaning back on the cupboard opposite him.

“Well, Toby, the aeroplane shakes because there’s wind outside pushing on the side of it, and it makes the plane wobble a little.” He held his hand up in front of him and waggled it a little, pointing at it with his other hand to show how the wind hit the plane. Toby tilted his head a little, watching Martin’s hands with rapt attention. “Normally, air moves over the plane from the front to the back, but when wind comes from the side, it bumps GERTI and she-“

”Who’s Gerty?”

“GERTI’s the name of the aeroplane.” Martin gestured expansively.

“Your aeroplane, since you’re the captain. Why is GERTI a girl aeroplane?”

”Why is... all aeroplanes are girls, just like all ships are girls. Ships used to be dedicated to goddesses, important women, captain’s wives...” Martin’s voice trailed off and he straightened up as he looked down at the boy, who seemed calmer. “Anyway, Toby, you don’t have to worry about it. First Officer Douglas and I have-“ The plane lurched and Martin pitched forward. He braced himself on the cupboards across from him, hands spread wide on the doors. He looked down and saw the top of Toby’s head. The boy had thrown his arms around Martin’s waist and buried his face in his shirt, his hands grabbing fistfuls of the dark blue jacket. Martin stepped forward and relaxed, putting a hand on the boy’s back and rubbing slow circles.

“It’s okay. It’s just a little wind. We’ll be fine.” He heard sniffling, but the boy turned his face up to look at him and smiled weakly. “Would you...umm... would you like to see where we fly the aeroplane?”

“You should call her GERTI. It’s her name.” The boy straightened up, but didn’t loosen his hold on Martin’s jacket.

“Well, if you want, we can go meet her.” Toby nodded. Martin backed up a little, but the boy’s hands remained where they were. He cast around for help, then remembered he’d sent the others out into the cabin. Swallowing hard, he slipped his hands under Toby’s legs and lifted him up. The boy wrapped his arms around Martin’s neck and laid his head on his shoulder, still whimpering whenever the plane shivered.

Martin made his way back towards the flight deck, now easier when Carolyn and Arthur had gotten the children settled into their seats with candy and colouring pages to keep them occupied. He kicked at a few balloons on his way and pretended he didn’t feel Arthur and Carolyn’s eyes following him up the aisle.

“Here we are, Toby. Say hello to First Officer Douglas. Douglas, this is Toby.” Douglas and Toby regarded each other with similar levels of surprise, one from his seat and the other from behind the lapel of Martin’s jacket. Martin wavered in the door. “Toby, it’s very important that you don’t touch anything while we’re in here.”

”Martin.” Douglas’ eyes followed him as Martin edged into the cockpit and lowered himself into his seat, balancing the boy on one knee. Toby twisted around, taking in as much as he could as quickly as possible. Martin raised his eyebrows at Douglas over the boy’s head, giving him a bit of a shrug.

“So, Toby, this is where I sit.”

”Because you’re the captain.”

Martin blushed as he heard Douglas snicker beside him. “Yes, Toby, this is where the captain sits. Here’s where I steer the plane, and here’s where I talk to the air controllers, and here’s where I talk to the cabin crew.” He pointed to the various displays and buttons, explaining them all one after the other in simple terms, answering the boy’s questions. Whenever the plane shook, Toby would grab hold of Martin, and Martin wrapped an arm protectively around him until he was calm again. Eventually there was nothing else to explain and the three of them sat in silence. Toby was sitting in Martin’s lap watching the clouds in front of the aeroplane. Martin was watching Toby with one arm around the boy and the other resting on the controls, and Douglas was watching the two of them, although only out of the corner of his eye.

“Martin, we should start descending soon.” Douglas sighed, looking from Martin’s face to the little boy who was now nearly sleeping in his lap.

“Yes, right. Of course. I’ll just call Arthur and have him help Toby back to his seat.” He punched the button for the intercom. “Arthur, could you come to the flight deck, please? And bring a blanket.”

“Sure thing, Skip. Are you cold?”

”No, it’s not for me. Just... just bring it, Arthur, please.” He turned off the intercom and shifted his leg, trying to stave off numbness without stirring the sleeping boy.  
“I thought you said you weren’t good with children, Martin, yet here is clear and incontrovertible proof that you are.” Douglas looked down at the mop of blonde curls, his face now almost totally obscured where he’d curled into Martin’s jacket. Martin looked down at him and sighed, smiling.

“I don’t know what happened. My nieces and nephews are all afraid of me. Maybe it works better if the kid doesn’t know me in advance.” He ran a hand over the boy’s head, looking up when Arthur opened the door.

“Hello... oh. Hi Skip. Hi Douglas.” Arthur whispered dramatically as he opened the door, blanket in hand. Together he and Martin managed to get Toby bundled into the blanket and into Arthur’s arms without waking him. Arthur backed out and Martin pulled the door closed behind him.

 

The landing went smoothly, and Martin and Douglas went out to see the passengers off together with the crew. Once again Martin surveyed the devastation inside GERTI and promised himself that he would stay and help Arthur clean and Hoover the plane as penance for his behaviour that morning.

“Good-bye! Thank you for flying with MJN Air! Good-bye!” Most of the children were eager to run up and hug Arthur good-bye, but Toby hung back. His face lit up when he saw Martin come out of the flight deck, though, and he ran up the aisle, crashing into Martin’s legs and squeezing them both.

“I was so scared, Captain Martin, but you made it stop shaking, and you made it fun!” He smiled up at Martin, and the pilot found himself smiling back at him. He knelt down in front of the boy, then took his cap off and put it on his head. It was too big and fell down over his eyes, so Martin pushed it back a little.

“Thank you for your help today, Toby. And next time, remember, it’s just wind, and you’ll be okay. I promise. Now, off you go.” Toby turned and ran back up the aisle to the door, holding the hat on with one hand as he went. Just before he stepped out, he turned back to Martin and waved. Martin waved back, giving him a nod.

“Well, Martin, I must say, that was really something.” Douglas rested a hand on his shoulder, but Martin shrugged it off, straightening up and walking towards Carolyn and Arthur.

”Douglas, I don’t want to hear it.”

”No, I mean it, Martin. Everyone here at MJN knows how much your cap means to you, and you just gave it away. I daresay that was the best birthday present he got today, getting to sit in the flight deck with the captain.”

“He was the birthday boy? Him? All alone in the galley on his birthday?”

Arthur looked from Douglas to Martin and back. “Yeah, Skip. Didn’t you know? That’s why Mum was so worried about his crying.”

“It’s true, Martin. His parents paid for this entire flight so that they could have a private party for their son with other children, since apparently he has trouble making friends and they thought the best way to do it would be to have them in captivity on an aeroplane, round trip. I think he had more fun with you, though.” Carolyn gave him a smile and an uncharacteristic pat on the arm before heading out of the aeroplane. Douglas followed after her, leaving Martin and Arthur alone in the cabin.

“Arthur, this morning, I was a bit...”

”Oh, it’s all right, Skip. Everyone has an off day now and again, and anyway you’re all better now.” Arthur had already started plucking paper down from the ceiling, contemplating each multi-colored handful before stuffing it into the plastic bag.

“I thought maybe I could help clean up. To make up for it.” Martin leaned down and picked up a balloon, playing with the knot at the end as he talked. “If you want me to.”

”Of course, Skip! Brilliant! We’ll be done in half the time! Come on!” He gave Martin a bag and headed off to the other end of the cabin. Martin smiled to himself and set to work.


End file.
